In recent years, the packaging industry has responded to the ever increasing use of processed and ready-to-cook foods by providing a variety of food product packages which may be used for storing, cooking, and serving food products. With the advent of microwave cooking technology, microwaveable food product packages have been developed which may be used to contain a food product during microwave cooking and which may be used to enhance cooking of the food product contained therein.
A microwave cooking appliance is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,149. The microwave cooking appliance discloses an octagonal-shaped susceptor base and a plurality of heat tabs positioned at acute angles over the susceptor base. Each heat tab may be locked to an adjacent heat tab using a locking device which locks the heat tabs into an operating position at an acute angle above the surface of the susceptor base.
A disposable microwave heating receptacle is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,891,482. The disposable receptacle has a self-supporting configuration for combined baking and cooking of a generally flat food article, such as a pizza The disposable receptacle is formed of a self-supporting sleeve or box to surround a food article. The lower portion of the food product is heated primarily by conduction while the upper portion of the food article is heated by combined radiation from heated microwave susceptor material and microwave energy absorption.
In those systems, a food product is contained in a sleeve or box or underneath a plurality of locked heating tabs. Thus, the end user must tear away the heating tabs or box in order to retrieve the cooked food product. Also, those systems confine the food product and do not allow for lateral expansion of the food product during cooking.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a food product tray that can be used to store, cook, and serve a food product. There is further need in the art for a food product tray which will expand as the food product expands during cooking. There is also a need in the art for a microwaveable cooking tray with expandable upright side panels where the interior of the tray is lined with microwave susceptor material to enhance cooking of the food product.